All things Knotts Berry Farm

[Emmanuel]

Knotts updated their park hours calendar to include all of Sept, Oct and parts of Nov.

Park closes at 5:30 Thursdays and Fridays for Scary Farm but at 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays. September 19th (Sun) is the only Sunday thats not a Scary Farm night as the park is scheduled to close at 8pm. They've done this before where the first Sunday isn't a Scary Farm night. Scary Farm hours aren't posted yet but expect Thurs and Sundays to be running until 1am and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

November 5th is listed as closing at 12am but something tells me thats some sort of error as the park won't have much to offer to stay open that late especially with removal of Halloween and the beginning of the holiday decorations moving in around that time. The calendar goes up to November 18th.

 

[CaptinEO]

I know in the 2019 Hanging it ended with a projection of a tombstone saying RIP The Hanging even though Knotts didn't really say it was the final year of the show. But considering how that show ended it wouldn't put past me if they were serious on it ending. While I enjoyed most versions of the show in the 10 years i've seen it, it was really a hit and miss every year.

I've seen videos of this show and it's so cringey, it's like they just reference every popular thing for that time but without any good writing.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I've seen videos of this show and it's so cringey, it's like they just reference every popular thing for that time but without any good writing.

That's what The Hanging is.

 

[Professortango1]

View attachment 577866

Knotts this morning had the Scary Farm entertainment on the show page (its not on there anymore). It did show one show that wasn't in the entertainment lineup announcement yesterday.

Walter Knott Theater will see its first use since reopening hosting Puppet Up once again. The Carnaval Du Grotesque is taking over the Mine Stage so basically confirms the death of "The Hanging"

The "Invitation to Terror" didn't list a location but it did mention that the show will run every 20 minutes so I don't know where in Ghost Town this will be.

I'm glad they will be having a traditional bizarre magic show. It always seemed like an opportunity they were missing out on. Invitation to Terror had be worried with being described as a "digital illusion horror show." Meaning projection effects?

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

The overwhelming nostalgic Americana in this park, the pride in the country and Walter Knott, the charm of the Ghost Town, Calico Mine Train probably the best dark ride in California. It was basically an event for my Theme Park Life and I have to say I enjoyed myself more than Disneyland. Disney seems ashamed of everything that Knott's flaunts with remarkable skill and it's something that Disney used to excel at.

 

[Professortango1]

The overwhelming nostalgic Americana in this park, the pride in the country and Walter Knott, the charm of the Ghost Town, Calico Mine Train probably the best dark ride in California. It was basically an event for my Theme Park Life and I have to say I enjoyed myself more than Disneyland. Disney seems ashamed of everything that Knott's flaunts with remarkable skill and it's something that Disney used to excel at.

I wouldn't call Calico Mine Train the best dark ride in California. It has an amazing scale, but it can't hold a candle to the ride it inspired, IJA.

I do love Knotts, as it succeeded at being a CA themed theme park while Disney fumbled that ball horribly. But I am saddened at its downfall as well. Silver Bullet, removal of The Haunted Shack, two lackluster darkrides after featuring KOTD, one of Knott's best attractions. Mystery Lodge remains shuttered and Pony Express crapped all over Bigfoot/Calico Rapids. The sale to Cedar Fair definitely saw a loss of charm and identity. Its not a bad little park, but not what it once was.

 

[J4546]

yeah i think knotts def needs a haunted house style ride

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

Knott's put 2022 Season Passes on sale today. They give access from now until 12/31/22, except for the 12/18/21 through 12/31/21 period.

Any add ons like the Meal Plan or Drink Plan are also valid as soon as you purchase the pass, so you're getting over 16 months value.

The regular pass is $110 and Gold Pass is $130, which includes Soak City admission the rest of this season and then in Summer 2022.

For passes purchased on or before May 5, 2021, they said to wait, as there will be a special renewal offer for when those passes expire on May 5, 2022.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

Knott's put 2022 Season Passes on sale today. They give access from now until 12/31/22, except for the 12/18/21 through 12/31/21 period.

Any add ons like the Meal Plan or Drink Plan are also valid as soon as you purchase the pass, so you're getting over 16 months value.

The regular pass is $110 and Gold Pass is $130, which includes Soak City admission the rest of this season and then in Summer 2022.

For passes purchased on or before May 5, 2021, they said to wait, as there will be a special renewal offer for when those passes expire on May 5, 2022.

That is awesome for a park you can do in half a day.

 

[Professortango1]

That is awesome for a park you can do in half a day.

You spend half a day sitting in the queue for Ghostrider.

 

[Emmanuel]

Whoever is wondering if Timber Mountain Log Ride is doing the "Halloween Hootenanny" layover this year, they slipped its return in the page for Spooky Farm

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

You spend half a day sitting in the queue for Ghostrider.

The crowds this week have not been bad. If you can, go on a weekday. Wait time for Ghostrider has been under 45 minutes.

And saying you can do everything at Knott's in half a day is kind of ridiculous. Even if you wanted to hit All the rides, it would be impossible. But when you add in Entertainment, especially during the Summer & Holidays, there's more than enough to keep you busy open to close, if you had the energy.

Yeah, for less than $400, I'll live with the fact it's not Disneyland. For that, I get 365 days of visits, 2 meals each visit, unlimited drinks, and free parking. And if I decide I want to visit another Cedar Fair park, my Platinum Pass affords me all of the above there too.

$1,400 gets me the same at Disneyland, sans the food and beverages, and subject to reservation restrictions. So in effect, it's 3 1/2 years of Knott's with food and drink, or 1 year of Disneyland.

To me, Knott's is a heck of a deal. I've paid more for a couple of 2 hour concerts.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

You spend half a day sitting in the queue for Ghostrider.

Lol I Will give you that one. Ghost Rider is usually the longest wait in the park. its been that way since the ride opened. I know, I went opening week. But the rest of Knott's is easy to knock off. You can be done with the whole place before sun set

 

[PiratesMansion]

In the (probably unlikely) event that anyone here DIDN'T purchase passes before May 5th, is renewing over the next few days, and is going the platinum route, just a heads up that the other parks often have marginally better renewal benefits than Knott's.

If you renew by the 15th, most other parks (NOT Cedar Point, but Great America, Kings Island, WOF, etc) also offer a free Fastlane for that specific park valid over the next couple of months, IN ADDITION TO the BAF ticket that Knott's is offering. The degree of restrictions varies by park (ex. WOF has no restrictions other than the deadline; KI you can't redeem the FL on Saturdays) but it's worth looking into if you'll potentially head to another CF park that isn't Knott's over the next few months. The price is the same regardless, the regular passholder benefits transfer over to all CF parks regardless, and for renewals you don't have to process a new pass, so there's no reason to NOT hop over to another park if you could take advantage of any of their renewal extras.

 

[SplashGhost]

The crowds this week have not been bad. If you can, go on a weekday. Wait time for Ghostrider has been under 45 minutes.

I was there yesterday and the GhostRider queue was out of the barn both when I got there around 6PM and closer to closing, and once again Single Rider was closed. Even when the park is about to close, if the queue fills out most of the lower level of the barn, the wait is about 60-90 minutes, and that is without Fastlane and Disability Passes slowing down the line as much as they do during operating hours. I would say the wait was about 2 hours when I was there. Maybe it was much shorter in the morning, but it was really long as usual at night. Crowds in general were a little lower than a couple of weeks ago.

As much as I enjoy GhostRider, the slow dispatches and consistently long lines make me like it less. I know it isn't the fault of the ride that the lines are so long, but when I can ride Apocalypse at Magic Mountain with a 15-30 minute wait most times, and I can marathon it late at night sometimes, then I personally prefer Apocalypse as the best California wooden coaster as there is a much better "time vs. payoff" ratio with Apocalypse, and even if the wait times were equal, I would almost like Apocalypse as much as GhostRider.

Calico River Rapids is starting to become my favorite ride at Knott's. The theming is great, and the ops are the best of any ride at the park. I managed to ride it 4 times last night without waiting, while anything else good had a considerable wait time.

 

[PiratesMansion]

So in the promo video showing the mazes, there's clearly a logo for a new haunt, obscured for an inevitable later announcement. But is this to mean that there will only be one new maze instead of the usual two?

We already know that as promised, Shadowlands and Infected: Special Ops aren't coming back.

 

[milordsloth]

I was there yesterday and the GhostRider queue was out of the barn both when I got there around 6PM and closer to closing, and once again Single Rider was closed. Even when the park is about to close, if the queue fills out most of the lower level of the barn, the wait is about 60-90 minutes, and that is without Fastlane and Disability Passes slowing down the line as much as they do during operating hours. I would say the wait was about 2 hours when I was there. Maybe it was much shorter in the morning, but it was really long as usual at night. Crowds in general were a little lower than a couple of weeks ago.

As much as I enjoy GhostRider, the slow dispatches and consistently long lines make me like it less. I know it isn't the fault of the ride that the lines are so long, but when I can ride Apocalypse at Magic Mountain with a 15-30 minute wait most times, and I can marathon it late at night sometimes, then I personally prefer Apocalypse as the best California wooden coaster as there is a much better "time vs. payoff" ratio with Apocalypse, and even if the wait times were equal, I would almost like Apocalypse as much as GhostRider.

Calico River Rapids is starting to become my favorite ride at Knott's. The theming is great, and the ops are the best of any ride at the park. I managed to ride it 4 times last night without waiting, while anything else good had a considerable wait time.

Last time I rode Apocalypse was back in June last year and even with flash pass it took 40min to get on the ride. We went to knotts on the same trip and from what I saw both parks were pretty bad with ride efficiency.

 

[SplashGhost]

Last time I rode Apocalypse was back in June last year and even with flash pass it took 40min to get on the ride. We went to knotts on the same trip and from what I saw both parks were pretty bad with ride efficiency.

Magic Mountain has also been understaffed and overcrowded since it has reopened. The difference is that Knott's had terrible ops on GhostRider pre COVID as well, so I have less hope of them ever getting better.

 

[CaptinEO]

Both Knotts and Six Flags let riders pick their own row, which adds to the wait.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Both Knotts and Six Flags let riders pick their own row, which adds to the wait.

Knott's is a Cedar Fair park, though, and they're pretty much putting groupers in the station at all their major rides chain-wide now. Not sure what Knott's is doing right now, but in the past Ghostrider, at least, has pretty much always had a grouper. All the CF parks I've been to this year (Cedar Point, Kings Island, Valleyfair) have had groupers, even this year.

And while groupers theoretically help, their efficiency can be pretty hit or miss at Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks (if SF parks indeed have any, which is rare). I've seen way too many rows go unfilled even with groupers this summer. Some of that is on idiots who just stop and gawk at the station when they get to the front, but more of it than I'd like is groupers not being on the ball.

They're not necessarily the be-all end-all outside of Disney & Universal, and frankly, most of the time you don't need one unless you have a station that is exceptionally poorly designed (Viper and the former Iron Wolf, both at Six Flags Great America, would benefit/would have benefitted from them tremendously. Alas, Six Flags...). If the groupers aren't even consistently good enough to fill every row, then what's even the point?

Most parks around the country get by just fine without groupers. I'll never forget the HYSTERIA! of one poster on DisBoards who was freaking out about going to a non-Disney/Universal park when OMG THEY DON'T HAVE A GROUPER AND YOU CAN SIT WHERE YOU WANT, THE HORROR! It just betrays the person as someone who has no idea how non-Disney/Universal parks operate most of the time.